Caretaker
by Anima Flamma
Summary: A glimpse into their dreams... Please R&R!
1. Caretaker

#@^% it. I took off the blooper reel 'cause it's //against the rules\\! * big tears are in my eyes. (Can't you see them?)* But I will continue! The madness will not be contained! E-mail me if you want to receive the next chapters. I'm looking into getting a web page, but it's not likely to happen any time soon.  
  
Anyway, pertaining to the below ... Disclaimer: Alas alack, I own Legacy of Kain not. Woe onto the person who sues me for I have not but the lint lining my pockets. (Dramatic enough? Note the heavy sarcasm.) It is also more serious than my other, more well known but now gone fic *sob*  
  
Note: the Vampires' Whisper will look like -this- and heavily emphasized statements will look like /this\ 'cause I still can't figure out how to get it italic.  
  
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Umah walked across the desolate battlefield that was the evidence of the last battle of Kain's army. She had never met Kain, but her Sire, Vorador, had spoken him in tones of admiration, even though he was in all probability dead. Umah had received the dark gift shortly before the terrible battle that had claimed the lives of so many of her kind and had been one of the last to be so gifted, because the Vampires simply didn't have enough energy to create more.  
  
That was why she was searching the bodies that lay strewn carelessly across the field. She was searching for any surviving Vampires, but the search was so far futile. For those who would survive, if any were found, Umah called to the attention of the others in the recovery team. Those who were beyond help were delivered from their suffering, and were more numerous than the nonexistent survivors. Any wounded Sarafan were killed instantly.  
  
Those damned Sarafan, Umah fumed silently, why did they have to hate Vampires so much? Why can't they just leave us alone, she asked the starry night, but the answers did not appear. Sense the fateful battle, only one night ago, the Sarafan pledged to destroy all Vampires. Most of the fledglings under a century had been caught and killed. She was the only one under one hundred who had survived; indeed, she was the youngest, having less than a month as a Vampire.  
  
Umah realized that in her musings she had walked right under the cliff where Kain was seen to be thrown off. She discerned a pale, still form to be lying on the jagged rocks. Umah walked closer. So this was the Vampire general, who had sought to conquer Nosgoth and was slain by the Sarafan Lord. Kain had on scant armor that couldn't have been much help in turning enemy blows.  
  
Umah approached closer still, and discerned the wound that must have been Kain's deathblow. Suddenly, the pale chest gasped in a breath, and then another. He was /breathing\. Umah tried to understand how it was possible at all. She had seen the utter motionless, and had heard the complete silence where there should have been a heartbeat. There had been no signs of life in the body just seconds ago.  
  
No longer slowly moving toward Kain, she was moving with speed that only Vampires could claim. When Umah reached him, she heard the weak and erratic beat of his heart. -Hurry, come quick!- Umah Whispered to the others. She refused to tell them what she had found, but only urged them to come faster.  
  
Umah feared that Kain's grip on life might be too weak to last until the others could reach them from across the field. Blood, he must need blood, she thought. Quickly she grabbed a sword that lay on the ground and with difficulty, slit her wrist. "Please don't die." Umah begged as she pressed the gash to Kain's lips. Slowly, with ever quickening speed, the prone Vampire began to drink.  
  
Lost in concentration, Umah only realized the others had arrived when she heard a startled gasp. The Vampires in the recovery team had made a loose ring around the two.  
  
"That's Kain, isn't it? I thought he was killed," muttered one of them.  
  
"Shush, no one must know of this until Vorador deems it," another replied.  
  
"What's going to happen?" Umah asked as she moved her wrist back to Kain's lips. She had to reslit her wrist because it had already healed. "You aren't just going to let him die are you?" She had resolved to only tell her Sire about what she had thought she had seen. Rigging up a rough stretcher in which to carry Kain, the recovery team returned back to the temporary sanctuary of their Base. Even though they were as gentle as possible, Kain still whimpered occasionally.  
  
-Vorador, open the gate, I beg you! We have a critically wounded Vampire that needs immediate attention if he is to survive the night.- the leader Whispered to their Sire as they ran though the forest toward Base.  
  
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Base was a huge mansion in the forest, almost completely engulfed by vines. The Vampires had acquired it from a rich merchant who had scorned the other merchants with their Sarafan guards and so lacked protection when he had most needed it.  
  
Vorador wondered what could the leader of the team call out so frantically. He had known when he sent the team out that there was no hope to be had for the wounded on the battlefield, because he had went during the day when the fledglings had been confined inside the house in fear of the deadly sunlight. In his long memory, only one fledgling had ever walked openly, if not in complete comfort, in the sunlight.  
  
It grieved Vorador that Kain had been killed. He was still grateful that Kain had revived him, even if Kain wouldn't tell him exactly how he had. Now he would never be able to repay Kain for that great service.  
  
Waiting anxiously at the gate, Vorador saw the small team rush toward the mansion with a stretcher slung between two of them. The entire team was on their feet, so it couldn't have been a Sarafan ambush that had downed one of the team. He felt his hope rising, could he have been wrong? Could it possibly be a survivor of the battle?  
  
As the team got closer, Vorador thought he recognized the prone form on the stretcher. Could it be? How could it be possible? How could Kain be alive? The wound Kain had received would have killed even an Ancient in its prime, that a fledgling could have survived it was impossible. He should know; he had seen both happen.  
  
Vorador usured the team into the mansion's dining room where the injured Vampire was moved onto the table. When the fledglings asked why the table, he had told them that the dining room had the most room and all 4 beds had already been claimed.  
  
"Will he be alright?" one asked. Vorador recognized her as his youngest fledgling, his favorite.  
  
"Let us hope so. It is indeed Kain. Who found him?" Vorador asked. The entire team pointed to his favorite, Umah. "The rest of you are excused, make sure to feed well, my children," he said as he motioned them to leave.  
  
"Umah, tell me what happened." Vorador commanded, as he began to examine Kain's wound. There was a fresh scar where Kain appeared to have been cleaved by the Sarafan Lord's sword.  
  
"He is healing fast," Umah remarked. When Vorador looked at her, she began her recitation of the events. "He was /dead\, Sire, when I found him," Umah stated when she got to the part of finding Kain. "There was no heartbeat, no breath, no life in him when I found him. Then he just started to live."  
  
Having determined that Kain's wound was healing, Vorador paused to muse about this. He now knew that he had been right, there had been no living survivors at the time when he had examined the battlefield. How could this resurrection have been possible? Perhaps it was part of the legacy given to Kain by his maker, in the same way that Kain could draw to the blood from his slain victims into his mouth. Neither Vorador or those he made could perform that little trick nor the others that Kain did with little effort. Thinking about it, Vorador realized Kain had never told him who made him; there was no one Vorador could ask who could take care of the fledgling. In his way, Kain was more of an enigma to Vorador than Vorador had been to Kain.  
  
"Sire, will he live?" Umah begged, bringing Vorador back to himself. Kain made a growling noise and moved slightly.  
  
"If he is to, he would require a huge amount of care," Vorador replied slowly. As he spoke, he was forming an idea that would revive Kain and remove his favorite from any risk. Kain growled once more, then lay still.  
  
"What is wrong with him?" Umah demanded.  
  
"He has gone into a stupor, it will be centuries until he awakens, if he ever will." Vorador answered.  
  
"Could I help, anything at all?" Umah countered, desperate to help.  
  
"I you did, it would be centuries of only looking after him, feeding him, protecting him from discovery..." Vorador began.  
  
"Please, please let me help!" Umah interrupted him.  
  
Vorador nodded his head. "Very well, this is what you must do..."  
  
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Umah sat back in her chair and looked at her charge. Vorador had finally decided that their shelter would be in the outskirts of the city of Meridian. There Umah would have plenty of prey to feed herself and Kain. She was overjoyed that Vorador had deemed her strong enough to look after herself and Kain while she was so young.  
  
Their shelter was a small tower by the slums. Even though it was filled with many fine things, none of the inhabitants of the slums would approach it. Too often they had heard the screams of would-be- thieves, as they were bleed to death.  
  
Kain growled softly in his sleep as something in his dreams disturbed him. Umah smiled as she brushed a stray lock of silver hair off of Kain's forehead. As she did, Kain relaxed. Soon she would go hunting for the both of them, soon.  
  
  
  
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What do you think of my first serious piece? Should it be continued or should it remain as is? Review and tell me! Please? 


	2. Interloper

Thank you for reviewing, this time I'm gonna do something different than my other fic, and give shout outs!  
  
Aleks - *big smile* I'm glad you love it!  
  
Demon Hunter Anamae - The switch is kinda hard, but I'm working on other funny fics at the moment. About the grammar: apparently I did absorb something while daydreaming through English class.  
  
Light in dark - Cute wasn't exactly what I was going for, but I'll take that as a complement. What's with the growling? Do you need a drink? * hands Light in dark a super-sized Mountain Dew*  
  
Sarryn - It's good that it's good and it shall be continued.  
  
Silveriss - I will send you the next blooper chapter as soon as it is written.  
  
Nemi - In the FMV in BO1, I always thought it was the Blood Gout spell. * sigh* Oh well. I guess I learn something new every day, or something to that effect.  
  
ElemantalAngel - That is one /big\ smile. ^______________________________________________^ And here's an equally big smile for your fic. Sorry I haven't reviewed it. I am very bad about reviewing after I read.  
  
Bloodthirsty - Don't worry about /my\ bloopers, * gives a conspirators' wink* they aren't quite dead. But thank you for the roses. They're so pretty! I'm glad you like Umah, that was what I was trying for. How could I not continue, now that you mention Kain?  
  
  
  
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Umah sighed as she heaved the body into the incinerator. With the Sarafan now controlling the city, it was no longer wise to dump the bodies back onto the street. Staring into the flames, she reflected on how life had changed in just the few short months that they had been in hiding. How fast the Sarafan had grown, she mused. It was like a virus.  
  
As the remains collapsed into ash, she delicately grasped the goblet and started back up the stairs, careful not to spill the recently shed blood, for the sun would rise soon and she didn't want to go hunting again. Umah reached her destination, and inwardly sighed with relief. As irrational as she knew her paranoia was, she still dreaded coming into the room and finding a company of Glyph knights finishing off what their Lord did not.  
  
Lying on the ornate bed was the source of her anxieties, and in her innermost thoughts, her dreams. "How are you tonight?" Umah called to her charge, even as she realized the vocalization to be worse than useless; it just reminded her of her loneliness. She had started to talk to Kain, but it just wasn't the same. Maybe next time her Sire came to visit, she could ask for a pet. Perhaps a puppy, or maybe a human...  
  
Umah carefully raised Kain into a semi-sitting position, just high enough that the fresh blood wouldn't be spilled, as it had several times before she had gotten the gist of how to feed him. Kain mumbled from deep in his slumber. "You don't like the taste do you? I know, but you need to drink it to get better." Umah didn't particularly care for the blood of the urchins that inhabited the slums any more than Kain seemed to. Sometimes she thought it tasted of broken dreams and despair.  
  
"Enough of this moodiness," she said, breaking the silence. "Tomorrow night I will hunt in the lower city, maybe even in the upper. And I will bring you a treat you will like." Umah whispered to him as she gently kissed his forehead. She knew that it wasn't wise to leave Kain unattended, but what harm could occur in one night? She climbed into her bed, and laughed inwardly at the common knowledge that Vampires need to sleep in coffins.  
  
  
  
  
  
As the sun set, Umah rose. "Good evening," she greeted her charge. "Would you like some fresh air? Seeing as you are stuck in your bed, of course." And with that, she opened the window. She was in a great mood, due to the impending hunt. "I will see you soon. Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone." Umah said as she jumped out the window and ran toward the bridge to the lower city.  
  
  
  
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/Finally\, the female was gone. He alighted just inside the window that she had left from. He snorted, thinking it would be too easy. "Kain, where are you?" he called softly in his disjointed voice. He cocked his head and listened, but all he heard was slow breathing and a heavy heartbeat. He stepped into the room and saw ... his lord who he had betrayed.  
  
"This is too easy," he murmured. His greatest foe, whom had once held his allegiance, now lay helpless. It wouldn't take much power to finish him off. To do so now would be too anticlimactic to suit him. He stalked across the room and stared into the countenance of the so-called great general.  
  
"You didn't even know it was me who betrayed you. You didn't even question when I told you that I had found a 'small' company of Sarafan, you were that arrogant, even when I disappeared from the camp. You never questioned my loyalty! It never occurred to you that you were taking me for granted, you were just using me! It was always 'Magnus this' and 'Magnus that'! You never appreciated what I did for you!"  
  
He stood over Kain and let his rage burn through him. Kain had not even flickered an eyelid through out his tirade. It was so much like the old days, it infuriated him. "Kain, answer me, damn it! Do something!" /Anything\, his mind begged. If Kain moved even in the slightest, he could claim self-defense, and thus his conscious could be clear.  
  
It was strange how his conscious tortured him now. Even though it was months since the Last Battle, as the Sarafan were calling it, he still felt guilty for betraying Kain. That was why he had come here. In his reasoning, he had concluded that Kain was still alive, and thus must be destroyed if his conscious would ever leave him alone. "Please," he begged.  
  
Silence was his only answer. Slowly, with his armor clanking, he knelt by the bed. "Please," he whispered again, not knowing what he was asking for this time. Perhaps it was forgiveness, but he pushed that thought from his mind almost as soon as it was formed. He collapsed onto the still figure on the bed and cried, relishing in the pain the tears brought, while remembering. Contrary to popular belief, Kain did care about his elite soldiers. He had comforted the interloper many times before when the pangs of conscious had become to great to bear.  
  
  
  
  
  
The interloper finally looked up from the gently rising and falling chest. It was almost dawn, and the female would be back soon. He started when he realized what he had spent the night doing. He had come to kill Kain, but had instead was comforted like a little /human\ child! "Next time I won't hesitate," he told Kain. "Next time we meet, I will kill you with my own hands." He wiped the last of the tears from his eyes, and jumped out the window, speeding toward his lair in the industrial quarter.  
  
  
  
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Umah dragged her catch into the basement. He was a fine young noble, well fed and soft. Surely he would spice up their diets, for a long time if she was careful in how she bleed him. She smiled at the noble, who began to plead and gibber as he realized his fate. "Please! Let me see one more sunrise!" he begged.  
  
/Sunrise!\ Umah had become so caught up in the hunt that she completely forgot about leaving Kain's window open! She slammed the door on the noble's protests and raced up to Kain's room. She was still in time to close the window. Shutting and barring the window, she shuddered and realized just how close Kain had been to dieing. Umah couldn't even begin to think about the repercussions if Kain died while in her care. Her Sire would be furious, to say the least.  
  
She walked closer to the bed and examined Kain. He seemed to have a small spattering of water burns on his chest. She inhaled, testing the scents. The only thing she could smell different from the normal aroma of the room was a slight whiff of what could have been another vampire, but it was so faint she thought she might have imagined it. The only thing different about Kain, besides the water burns, was his hand was stretched out, as if to comfort someone...  
  
  
  
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Can you guess who the interloper is? I shall give an amount of sugar out to equal the biggest sugar high in your lifetime if you get it right, or even if you just review! Please review! 


	3. Dreams

I know, long time between updates. But I've conquered the Writer's Block now! Go read my other ficcy, Missing Glyphs for the whole story. And yes, I changed my penname. Also (semi) explained in Missing Glyphs. Shout outs to:  
  
Silveriss: Yup, it's Sebastian. * hands out /lots\ of sugar*. And uh ... * sheepish look* I'm going to wait on the bloopers. I want to put them on my web site, if, no, when I get it.  
  
Light in dark: Cute is okay, but to come up with really good words, especially late at night, add sugar. Thank you for the great story part, and I finally got an update ^____^  
  
Sarryn: It's good that it kicks @$$.  
  
Elashana: I'm glade you like it. Multiple points of view /are\ good, and I'll go with the split personality. ^_^  
  
Ice Storm: Intriguing in a good way, right? And as I said to Elashana, multiple view points are good. In fact, they are so good, I wouldn't be surprised if another fic on Umah's life popped up.  
  
Wolfywoman: Sebastian needed that emotion for his personality. As of now, he will appear in later chapters. Your mom says no sugar?! O.o * hands out a /big\ goody bag* I hope this helps.  
  
Fallen Templar: ^____^ Absolutely right. It is Sebastian. Give that reviewer a prize! * hands out a nice bag of sweets*  
  
Bloodthirsty: It's Sebastian all right. And I hope below is close enough.  
  
And now on to the update!  
  
  
  
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Umah sighed as she stretched and crawled into her bed. She couldn't wait to leave the real world behind and enter her dreams. She closed her eyes and drifted off ...  
  
  
  
... and opened them to a very different environment. Gone were the familiar walls, the comforting glow of the candles, the /feel\ of the world, as well as the ground ...  
  
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Pyren ran around the corner, his boots murmured against the stone. He looked around cautiously, for he knew that monsters would be lurking within the ruins. He loosened his prize sword in its jewel - encrusted scabbard. This sword had been the very one that had slain the Vampire Vorador and had freed all of Nosgoth of his oppression. And the very hand that had slain the foul beast wielded it.  
  
Looking up from his reminiscences, Pyren cursed himself silently. He had almost walked into a trap! Only his keen instincts had saved him. The veil of mist blanketing the ruins was pierced by a scream, followed by monstrous laughter. The only thing that would make them laugh like that would be a victim.  
  
Edging closer, he saw a maiden hanging from one of the many rifts that crisscrossed the ruins. And below the maiden was a pack of the monsters.  
  
"Hold on! I'll save you!" he cried as he drew his sword. His maiden didn't answer, being more preoccupied with keeping her feet from the monsters' reach. One of the monsters did, however.  
  
"Look brothers, another of the cattle," he hissed. "It even appears to be the one who murdered our Sire." The rest of the white skinned pack turned and hissed.  
  
"Murderer!" hissed one, as it bared fangs and claws. Pyren declined to answer as it leapt for his throat. He moved slightly to the left and beheaded the thing as it passed by.  
  
As if by cue, the other creatures leapt forward to do battle. Pyren thrust his sword forward and impaled the creature, even though the wound wasn't fatal, it screamed and staggered back. A quick swing beheaded the thing. He stepped back to avoid the creature's death throws. Pyren stepped forward and gutted the next closest monster, and the back swing took both its head and its life. The rest of the beasts turned and ran.  
  
Pyren started to pursue the animals, but turned back when he heard his maiden scream. The ledge she had been holding onto suddenly broke, and she was dropping to the ground. He rushed forward just it time to catch her.  
  
"There you are my lady, safe, at least for now." he said as he put her down. He stepped back to admire her, and she was beautiful. She had long black hair, was wearing a form fitting purple outfit, and had mysterious tattoos on her face. "Will you at least tell me your name?"  
  
"I am Umah." she said, as she began to fade from his sight ...  
  
  
  
... Pyren awoke in the dungeon, stiff from laying on the stone floor and cold from the lack of heat. The dream he had just waken from was one he had many time, except for the vanishing maiden.  
  
He recalled the dream. It had seemed all too real. And that maiden ... he didn't know any one who fit that description. If he dreamed about any women, it was usually Minni, his sweetheart. But this one had been different ... Pyren suddenly recalled where he had seen that maiden ... it wasn't really a maiden, but a Vampire! The very one who had captured him and thrown him into this dreary prison!  
  
Pyren still couldn't shake the impression form his dream, that his jailor needed to be protected in some way. He pondered this sitting against the wall. After all, he wasn't going anywhere soon, if not to hell.  
  
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Umah shook with fear. She had just barely escaped from falling prey to the monsters ... in someone else's dream? She recalled her rescuer's face, and compared it to the young noble's she had captured earlier. It was the same.  
  
How she had gotten into his dreams was superseded by the need to know where she was /now\, and how to get back to the real world. Umah looked around. She was completely surrounded by void. There was no sound, no warmth, no light ...  
  
Yes there was! Umah looked closer at the tiny flicker of light She had just enough time to notice it was comprised of pain and hell fire before she was sucked in ...  
  
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He ran, fire licking at his exposed skin. He stopped and collapsed, only to get up when the pain of laying on the live coals out weighed his total exhaustion. Flames kissed his naked body, reminding him to run.  
  
To run was pain, but to stop was even worse. He would then be ... treated.... to relive memorable events of his past life. When the agony was to great, he stopped. But only for a moment, he told himself. Just enough to regain his breath.  
  
But a moment was too long, and he was sucked into one of the displays of his past life. He looked around, noting the heavy armor that he wore, the cool night air, the sense of betrayal, and the imposing monument. "I will not." He turned his back and inwardly flinched as his refusal ruined the monument, and grievously wounded his soul. He had told no one of the pain, both now and then. Then?  
  
His realization shattered the recollection, each fragment as sharp as razors and as cruel as a mirror as they drove into him. Perhaps one of the worst parts of these displays was that he could alter nothing, change nothing, even to save ones he had once loved. He slumped into the coals, ignoring the stench of burning flesh in via of his internal torment.  
  
An eternity later, he became aware of the lashing of the flames on tender skin. A low sinister chuckle echoed over the plains of fire. Hungry, tormenting, relentless. He had often heard that particular laugh, but always on the other side. He staggered up and began to run again.  
  
  
  
Umah cocked her head. This dream had all the makings of a hell. Fire roared above her head, live coals sizzled under her feet, burning ash fell from the shy, but nothing touched her. She heard a low, throaty chuckle, the panting shallow breath of a chased animal, and the frantic heartbeat of a mortally terrified creature.  
  
Umah turned and saw a naked man running through the flames. Where the fire had not blistered the skin raw, he was whiter than snow. She looked into his eyes and saw a thousand emotions, but the predominating one was despair.  
  
A tongue of flame licked his chest, and turned the skin black as it was burnt off. As quick as he was burned, he was healed. He staggered and when down, and the low chuckle turned mocking.  
  
Umah was running toward him before she realized it. She knelt down to help him out of the coals, but when she touched his shoulder, the fire died around them.  
  
"Thank you," he whispered in a raw voice. Instead of replying, Umah compulsively hugged him. He startled, and looked at her face. Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned forward. Umah found herself mimicking him. I can't help it, she thought. He has a magnetism that I just can't resist. But she knew different. Sense her first glimpse of him in the waking world, Umah had fallen deeply in love. And from his actions, so apparently did he. Their lips met in a kiss, and Umah was shocked at the softness ...  
  
... some time later they lay cuddled on the bed of warm coals. Umah felt herself stirring in the waking world, and fought to maintain her grip in the dream. Her efforts were futile, and with the last moments in the dream, she whispered, "I'll be back."  
  
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He watched in horror as his lover disappeared from his arms. The flames leapt into full height, with more heat than an ordinary inferno. He wondered, as he jumped off the coals, had she been real? Or just the invention of a mind steadily on the path into madness?  
  
"You're alone now, Kain." His own voice whispered to him. "Isn't that what you wanted? You'll never be hurt by anyone ever again," his laugh chased him through the conflagration. "Just by your self."  
  
  
  
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Kinda melancholic way to end the chapter, I know. But it fit with the mood. No, I'm not exactly happy right now. I've got a head ache. I'm going to go get some ice cream to see if that helps. Why don't you go check out my other ficcys? But before you go, remember to review? Please? 


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